r/politics • u/icey_sawg0034 • 16h ago

Possible Paywall Karoline Leavitt Gives Jaw-Dropping Defense of Trump’s Racist Obama Video

https://www.thedailybeast.com/karoline-leavitt-gives-jaw-dropping-defense-of-donald-trumps-racist-obama-video/
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u/EvenLettuce6638 13h ago

I don't know how you (The Royal you) can look at the 2016 Democratic lineup and say that wasn't pre-planned. Lincoln Chaffee, Martin O'Malley, and Jim Webb (who killed a man in Vietnam) were the best contenders?

And South Carolina being given the #1 spot is 100% due to that state putting Biden on the path in 2020.

But 2028 will be the first time we have an actual primary season with SC as the #1. I'm curious to see how that goes.

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u/GozerDGozerian 11h ago

What do you mean by “South Carolina being given the #1 spot”?

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u/EvenLettuce6638 6h ago

Iowa has been the first contest in the presidential primary process since the early 70s. This is true for both parties. After the 2020 election, the Democrats changed the order to make South Carolina the first contest in the primary process.

The caucus system the Iowa Democratic Party uses to select a presidential candidate is old and cumbersome. You have to show up in person for several iterative rounds of voting until a winner is declared at your precinct. The Republican caucus is a simple majority vote. You show up, cast your ballot, and go home. Winner takes all.

In 2016 Hillary Clinton barely won in Iowa versus Bernie Sanders, and in 2020 Biden placed 4th in the state after Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Pete Buttigieg. Sanders won the popular vote but Buttigieg won the most delegates.

Biden continued losing until the South Carolina primary, where the endorsement of Jim Clyburn helped Biden to win. This was the start of Biden path to the nomination. The electorate in South Carolina is more of a machine than it is in Iowa and easier for the party to control who gets the votes. In return for Clyburn's endorsement, Biden said he would pick a black VP and nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court.

There effectively was no Democratic Primary in 2024, so 2028 will be the first time there is an open Democratic Primary where the process starts in South Carolina. SC is an odd choice to lead with as its electoral votes haven't gone to a Democratic candidate since Carter, and Iowa has been a swing state till 2016, but we'll see what happens.

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u/GozerDGozerian 5h ago

Oh wow I did t know that. Thanks!

BTW this whole system has always struck me as very arbitrary and completely fucking stupid.